IAPO member CHEN advocates for patients at Government meeting

More than 75 delegates from patients associations (including IAPO member CHEN - Patient Fertility Association), health funds and hospitals gathered in the Knesset for a day of patients' rights with members of Knesset (MK).

During the event, the Health, Labor and Welfare Committee held special sessions which dealt with the patient's right to receive continuity of care in the transition between home and hospital, and the importance patient-centered healthcare. The State Control Committee held a special session about the conflict between private medicine and public health.

At midday, a ceremony took place with the Minister of Health, Mrs. Yael German. She blessed the participants and the organizing of a special day for such an important topic. The Minister promised to keep patients’ rights, add more doctors, nurses and beds to hospitals and keep a dialogue going regarding the medication basket of Israel's annual budget.

“The cooperation between the Ministry of Health and patients is the most important and valued achievement and it will be forever since patients are [an important] member of the team for improving healthcare in Israel” said Mr. Shmuel Ben-Yaakov, the Chair of The Israeli Health Rights Coalition.

“Patients are the centre of healthcare and should be valued as [being] so”, added Mrs. Ofra Balaban, the chair of CHEN – Patient Fertility Association. “It is so in Europe [led] by IAPO and should be the same in Israel.”